Business Directories

Bidding for Sabic, Exxon rubber plant closes

Al Khobar, December 16, 2009

Bidding for the first contract to build a new rubber plant venture between US ExxonMobil Chemical and Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic) closed on December 15, two bidders said.

Bids for the construction of tanks and spheres at Kemya, (Al-Jubail Petrochemical Co) itself a joint-venture petrochemical plant between ExxonMobil and Sabic were originally due by November 27.

US CB&I Lummus, Saudi Yanbu Steel Co and Petrosteel, a joint venture between Singagore's Rotary Engineering and Saudi Rafid Group bid for the package.

One Saudi-based contractor said he was waiting for the main packages to be issued in January as notified by Exxon and Sabic.

The main packages consist of a methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) plant and a halobutyl rubber plant.

ExxonMobil and Sabic first announced plans to build elastomers plants at their joint ventures in Yanbu and Jubail last year.

The combined value of the project, which will have a production capacity of about 400,000 tonnes per year of carbon black, rubber and speciality polymers is estimated at $5 billion, Marc Granier vice-president of ExxonMobil Chemical in Saudi Arabia said in October.

The implementation of the project, which would serve the tyre industry in Saudi Arabia, awaits a final investment decision by 2010 or 2011, Granier said.

ExxonMobil and Sabic were not immediately available for comment. – Reuters